Glucose uptake into cells is a central component of metabolism and energetics. The mechanisms by which glucose-derived energy is used for specific cellular functions such as growth, proliferation and maintenance, and how altered regulation can contribute to development of cardiometabolic diseases and cancer are critically important questions. It is necessary to explore these questions with a broad perspective, in which whole body and cellular mechanisms of cell signaling, nutrient uptake, and metabolism are integrated. Major advances in technology for investigating metabolism-driven chronic diseases have occurred in the past years, including advent of sophisticated platforms for systems biology. These developments facilitate approaches to understanding metabolic complexity that can include hypothesis-driven and database-driven discovery, but also requiring tools to enable hypothesis testing. In the face of these rapid changes, the proposed FASEB summer conference on Glucose Transport: Gateway to Metabolic Systems Biology seems particularly timely and important for maximizing communication among groups, forging collaborations, and facilitating progress in the field. Funding from NIDDK will ensure that this series, among the most long-lived in FASEB conference history, will continue to contribute to our understanding of metabolic physiology and its links to disease pathophysiology, while also serving as a vehicle to encourage and nurture young and emerging scientists in the field.